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7 Black Friday ‘deals’ that are a waste of money
Don't get blinded by the apparent brilliance of a Black Friday bargain without first checking if the product is also a Don't Buy.
After all, a great saving means nothing if you've picked a dud product that doesn't perform well or is unsafe.
Which? Don't Buys are products that have fallen so far below our expectations that we wouldn't recommend them to anybody under any circumstance.
Head straight to our Best Black Friday deals page for the deals we would recommend
Don’t Buy ‘deals’ in the 2024 sales
Our list of dodgy deals this year includes one of the slowest kettles we've tested, an inaccurate smartwatch and a cordless vacuum that really sucked.
Here’s what to steer clear of in the sales - and what to buy instead.
Beko CNG4601DVPS fridge freezer (sale price - £479)
Why avoid: The cooling and freezing are inconsistent and energy efficiency is poor.
This fridge freezer struggles to cool down and keep different parts of the appliance at an optimum temperature when you add food to it.
Also, as your kitchen warms up or cools down, this fridge freezer struggles to keep the inside temperature stable.
It’s probably not surprising, given how inconsistent this fridge freezer is at cooling and freezing, that it’s not very energy efficient either.
Our experts say: ‘We’ve tested much better fridge freezers, including others from Beko.’
Buy instead: The Fridgemaster MC55251DE is available for £315 from AO.com in the sales, which makes it cheaper. Plus, it chills and freezes food quickly and has an accurate thermostat.
See our pick of the best fridge freezer deals.
Swan Alexa Smart Kettle SK14650BLKN (sale price - £59)
Why avoid: It's incredibly slow, overboils for ages, and it’s difficult to see how much water is inside.
Don’t get too excited about the extra features on this hi-tech kettle, as it’s tainted by a sub-standard performance in other areas. It's one of the slowest on test, it overboils for ages, and the minimum fill level is wasteful.
The lack of filter also means it’s a terrible choice for those using it in hard-water areas.
We rated this product so poorly that earlier this year, it won a Which? Shoddies Award for 'dumbest smart product'.
Our experts say: 'It's a terrible kettle.'
Buy instead: The BoschTWK1M123GB MyMoment Delight is nearly half the price at £30 from Amazon. It lacks some of the flashier tech features of the Swan model, but it does the important stuff - like speedy boiling, having a clear water gauge and being easy to use - really well.
See our pick of the best kettles we've tested.
Kinderkraft 2in1 Nea pushchair and pram (sale price - £349)
Why avoid: This 2-in-1 pushchair and pram had a host of safety issues when we tested it at our lab.
Some of the safety issues we uncovered included a harness that broke under pressure, a plastic toggle on the rain cover that detached too easily and could be a choking hazard, a broken spring in the wheel suspension, and stability issues that could see it topple over on a slope.
Our experts say: 'Our lab found too many safety issues during testing. We recommend you look for an alternative pushchair.'
Buy instead: The Jane Ruler pushchair can be bought from Trendybaby.co.uk for £379 and includes the Smart carrycot. Our pushchair experts declared it's a good lightweight all-rounder pushchair and pram.
See our pick of the best pushchairs we've tested.
Swan Nordic ST14620WHTN toaster (sale price - £49)
Why avoid: The toasting slots aren't deep enough, which leads to unevenly toasted or untoasted bread.
Even slices from a standard-sized supermarket loaf of bread will be too tall for the slots in this Don't Buy toaster. This led to large untoasted sections across the top of the bread.
It's also very slow at toasting and not that easy to use.
Our experts say: 'This toaster is a universal failure and not fit for purpose.'
Buy instead: The Argos Cookworks Illuminated toaster costs £30 at Argos and is speedy and pops out golden-brown toast every time.
See our pick of the best toasters we've tested.
Withings Scanwatch 2 42mm (sale price - £249.95)
Why avoid: Inaccurate tracking and lacking in smart features.
The heart-rate readings on this smartwatch can’t be relied on, and the paired app has a poor design.
It doesn’t have built-in GPS and the accuracy of distance tracking is abysmal. Its smart features are very limited, too.
Our experts say: 'This smartwatch is all style over substance.'
Buy instead: The Google Pixel Watch 3 45mm is £329 in the sales on the Google Store and offers accurate tracking and a host of smart features.
See our pick of the best smartwatches we've tested.
Hisense HS214 sound bar (sale price - £78.17)
Why avoid: It's a poor sound bar with nasty audio quality and ease-of-use issues.
Our expert listening panel found the audio harsh, lacking in bass and with a thin, dull, ‘squeaky’ sound.
It also lacks a proper display – there’s just a multi-coloured LED to indicate what’s going on.
Our experts say: 'It sounds pretty dire and is one to avoid. There are far better options available.'
Buy instead: It's worth forking out a bit more and going for the Sony HT-S2000 which typically retails for £399, but is on Amazon at £298.
See our pick of the best sound bars we've tested.
Tower Optimum VL100 cordless vacuum cleaner (sale price - £119)
Why avoid: Poor performer on carpets and struggles to pick up pet hair and retain allergens.
This vacuum cleaner is let down by its cleaning performance and poor filter.
It's not very efficient when it comes to picking up dirt from deep within the carpet pile, or on dog and cat hair.
It’s also bad at retaining allergens, which isn't useful for people with dust-related allergies.
Our experts say: 'Don't waste your money.'
Buy instead: For a decent cordless vac at a similar price, the Russell Hobbs RHHS4101 Glide Pro Plus was deemed a 'solid choice' during our testing and is on sale for £105 at RobertDyas.co.uk.
See our pick of the best cordless vacuums we've tested.
Shop with Which? this Black Friday
We're confident about our Don't Buy warnings because they’re backed by our scientific testing. We test products rigorously, comparably and independently.
The products in this article all scored poorly in our tests. Typically, a product will be a Don't Buy if it scores less than 45%, with different categories having different expectations.
In some cases, we might find issues that can compromise safety and security. When this happens, not only will we make a product a Don't Buy, but we may also apply an alert banner on the review - a clear warning about what we found and what the risk is for shoppers.
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